Woolies backflips on plastic bag ban

After introducing the plastic bag ban only one week ago, Woolworths has bowed to consumer pressure and will offer free reusable plastic bags for the next 10 days.

The backflip comes after customers have found that they have underestimated the amount of bags they will need at checkout.

The 15 cent reusable plastic bags will be handed out for free until July 8, the supermarket giant said.

“Since we phased out single-use plastic bags nationwide on the 20th of June, some customers have told us that getting into the habit of bringing their own reusable bags has been a challenge," Woolworths managing director Claire Peters said in a statement.

“We’ve listened to these customers and heard they just want a little extra help from us to get through the transition to a more sustainable way of shopping. This will not only help support customers as they work to form new habits, but also ensure they’ll have reusable bags on hand when they next choose to shop with us.”

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Rival supermarket Coles is set to phase out plastic bags this weekend, announcing that all checkouts will be open in every store on Sunday to ease anticipated delays.